Brazilianfirms fight huge and unpredictable tax bills

　　2023年年中，巴西首富埃克巴蒂斯塔的商業(yè)帝國(guó)受到?jīng)_擊。他所控股的巴西油氣公司稱(chēng)井源產(chǎn)油比預(yù)期少。到年底，巴蒂斯塔的資產(chǎn)減少了三分之二，變?yōu)?24億美元。目前，他又遭受一個(gè)打擊。1月8日，他的采礦公司MMX被要求為其2007年的活動(dòng)支付38億雷亞爾的賬單，包括公司收入稅，社會(huì)保險(xiǎn)，利息以及罰款。

　　INMID-2023 Eike Batista, until recently Brazils richestman, saw his empire battered. OGX, an oil firm he controls, said its wells wereless productive than it had thought. By the end of the year Mr Batistas fortune fell by two-thirds, to $12.4 billion. Now he is underattack on another flank. On January 8th MMX, his mining company, said it hadbeen handed a bill relating to its activities in 2007, for 3.8 billion reais for corporate income tax and social security, plus interest andfines.

　　MMX公司堅(jiān)持將同這些完全毫無(wú)根據(jù)的收費(fèi)抗?fàn)帯Ｍ?dāng)?shù)囟悇?wù)機(jī)構(gòu)有大額數(shù)目爭(zhēng)議的巴西公司又多了一家。在前一天，巴西一家化妝品直銷(xiāo)公司-大自然公司宣稱(chēng)對(duì)6.3億雷亞爾的聯(lián)邦銷(xiāo)售稅有異議。十二月，巴西紙漿公司Fibria以及物流公司Santos Brasil也分別被追討17億雷亞爾與3.3億雷亞爾的公司所得稅。四家公司均沒(méi)有漏繳，也宣稱(chēng)不可能支付。

　　MMXsays it will be fighting these totally baseless charges. That adds it to a growing list of Brazilian firms battlingthe tax authorities over huge sums. The previous day Natura, a direct-salescosmetics firm, said it was disputing 630m reais in federal sales taxes. InDecember Fibria, a paper-and-pulp firm, and Santos Brasil, a port operator,said they were being chased for 1.7 billion and 330m reais, respectively, incorporate income tax and social security. None of the four companies has madeloss provisions; all say they regard the risk of having to pay as remote.

　　巴西的稅收爭(zhēng)議就如同比基尼或者桑巴一樣普遍。國(guó)家控股的石油巨頭-巴西石油公司正在同一項(xiàng)與1999年到2002年租借石油平臺(tái)一事相關(guān)的價(jià)值48億雷亞爾的賬單抗?fàn)?采礦巨頭Vale同海外收入稅總價(jià)305億雷亞爾的4項(xiàng)賬單以及30億雷亞爾版稅抗?fàn)帯Ｒ陨蟽杉夜就悇?wù)機(jī)關(guān)的抗?fàn)幊掷m(xù)多年，最后訴諸公堂。圣保羅一家法律事務(wù)所-馬托斯費(fèi)里奧律師事務(wù)所的律師Andrea Bazzo說(shuō)爭(zhēng)議數(shù)額越來(lái)越大，原因很簡(jiǎn)單，因?yàn)榘臀鞯拇蠊驹絹?lái)越多。這些事件也變得越來(lái)越普遍，因?yàn)樽兂呻娮哟鏅n之后更易查出錯(cuò)誤。犯錯(cuò)痛苦而簡(jiǎn)單。世界銀行認(rèn)為巴西的稅收名目是全世界最復(fù)雜的。

　　Taxdisputes are as Brazilian as string bikinis or samba. Petrobras, astate-controlled oil giant, is fighting a bill for 4.8 billion reais relatingto the leasing of oil platforms between 1999 and 2002. Vale, a mining giant, isfighting four bills totalling 30.5 billion reais for tax on its foreignearnings and another for 3 billion reais in royalties. Both battles have lastedyears and ended up in court. The amounts under dispute are getting bigger, saysAndrea Bazzo of Mattos Filho Advogados, a So Paulo law firm, simply becausethere are more big Brazilian firms. They are more common because a shift to electronicfiling makes errors easier to spot. Erring is painfully easy: the World Bankrates Brazils tax code as the worlds most complicated.

　　另一家法律事務(wù)所Pinheiro Neto的律師 Luiz Peroba 稱(chēng)：稅務(wù)工作者一旦發(fā)現(xiàn)可能的錯(cuò)誤便立刻發(fā)布違規(guī)報(bào)告，而不是直接同公司聯(lián)系。即使收益并未減少，解釋并不成立，也如此操作。大自然公司說(shuō)到最近一期同公司結(jié)構(gòu)有關(guān)的爭(zhēng)議。其商業(yè)與工業(yè)分公司自從1994年分開(kāi)一直沒(méi)變，但2005年卻收到了相似的賬單，這一爭(zhēng)議最后勝訴。

　　Taxofficials generally issue infraction notices as soon as they spot a potentialmistake, says Luiz Peroba of Pinheiro Neto, another law firm, rather thandiscussing it directly with the firm. This is true even if there has been noloss of revenueand even if their interpretation isunlikely to prevail. Natura says its latest dispute relates to its companystructure, with a split between its commercial and industrial arms, which hasnot changed since 1994. It received a similar bill in 2005, which it disputedsuccessfully.

　　這些違規(guī)通知包括利息以及75%的罰款。若錯(cuò)誤得到證實(shí)，罰款變?yōu)?50%，數(shù)額龐大，無(wú)力支付。比如MMX公司最近的爭(zhēng)議賬單是其總市值的90%。因此公司只能抗?fàn)帲瑒e無(wú)選擇。若是走到對(duì)簿公堂這一步，輕而易舉的就打發(fā)了15年。

　　Suchinfraction notices include interest and a penalty of 75%, or 150% if fraud issuspected. That often makes them unpayably vast: MMXsdisputed bill is 90% of its entire market value. So firms have little choicebut to fight, which can easily take 15 years if the argument ends up in court.

　　Peroba先生說(shuō)，相比總體的負(fù)擔(dān)，外商更擔(dān)心巴西稅收的復(fù)雜以及不可預(yù)測(cè)性。本國(guó)公司認(rèn)為長(zhǎng)期的稅收爭(zhēng)斗是經(jīng)營(yíng)的另一項(xiàng)花費(fèi)。不過(guò)幾乎沒(méi)有人擔(dān)憂(yōu)稅務(wù)人員會(huì)讓自己破產(chǎn)。近幾年，政府通過(guò)幾項(xiàng)稅收大赦政策，大幅度削減利息，罰金，并且 允許分期支付違約金。Peroba先生說(shuō)，除非進(jìn)行稅收改革，否則大赦是唯一保持稅收系統(tǒng)運(yùn)行的方法。巴西人知道會(huì)不時(shí)受到這些賬單，即使最終必須支付也不會(huì)是全部金額。

　　Foreignbusinesses worry more about the complexity and unpredictability of Brazils taxes than the total burden, says Mr Peroba. Locals regard longtax battles as just another cost of doing business; few worry that the taxmanwill bankrupt them. In recent years the government has passed several taxamnesties, slashing interest and fines and letting infractors pay ininstalments. Without tax reforms, amnesties are theonly way to keep the system going, says Mr Peroba. Brazilians know these bills will come from time to time, and if theyeventually have to pay it wont be the full amount.

　　Brazilianfirms fight huge and unpredictable tax bills

　　2023年年中，巴西首富埃克巴蒂斯塔的商業(yè)帝國(guó)受到?jīng)_擊。他所控股的巴西油氣公司稱(chēng)井源產(chǎn)油比預(yù)期少。到年底，巴蒂斯塔的資產(chǎn)減少了三分之二，變?yōu)?24億美元。目前，他又遭受一個(gè)打擊。1月8日，他的采礦公司MMX被要求為其2007年的活動(dòng)支付38億雷亞爾的賬單，包括公司收入稅，社會(huì)保險(xiǎn)，利息以及罰款。

　　INMID-2023 Eike Batista, until recently Brazils richestman, saw his empire battered. OGX, an oil firm he controls, said its wells wereless productive than it had thought. By the end of the year Mr Batistas fortune fell by two-thirds, to $12.4 billion. Now he is underattack on another flank. On January 8th MMX, his mining company, said it hadbeen handed a bill relating to its activities in 2007, for 3.8 billion reais for corporate income tax and social security, plus interest andfines.

　　MMX公司堅(jiān)持將同這些完全毫無(wú)根據(jù)的收費(fèi)抗?fàn)帯Ｍ?dāng)?shù)囟悇?wù)機(jī)構(gòu)有大額數(shù)目爭(zhēng)議的巴西公司又多了一家。在前一天，巴西一家化妝品直銷(xiāo)公司-大自然公司宣稱(chēng)對(duì)6.3億雷亞爾的聯(lián)邦銷(xiāo)售稅有異議。十二月，巴西紙漿公司Fibria以及物流公司Santos Brasil也分別被追討17億雷亞爾與3.3億雷亞爾的公司所得稅。四家公司均沒(méi)有漏繳，也宣稱(chēng)不可能支付。

　　MMXsays it will be fighting these totally baseless charges. That adds it to a growing list of Brazilian firms battlingthe tax authorities over huge sums. The previous day Natura, a direct-salescosmetics firm, said it was disputing 630m reais in federal sales taxes. InDecember Fibria, a paper-and-pulp firm, and Santos Brasil, a port operator,said they were being chased for 1.7 billion and 330m reais, respectively, incorporate income tax and social security. None of the four companies has madeloss provisions; all say they regard the risk of having to pay as remote.

　　巴西的稅收爭(zhēng)議就如同比基尼或者桑巴一樣普遍。國(guó)家控股的石油巨頭-巴西石油公司正在同一項(xiàng)與1999年到2002年租借石油平臺(tái)一事相關(guān)的價(jià)值48億雷亞爾的賬單抗?fàn)?采礦巨頭Vale同海外收入稅總價(jià)305億雷亞爾的4項(xiàng)賬單以及30億雷亞爾版稅抗?fàn)帯Ｒ陨蟽杉夜就悇?wù)機(jī)關(guān)的抗?fàn)幊掷m(xù)多年，最后訴諸公堂。圣保羅一家法律事務(wù)所-馬托斯費(fèi)里奧律師事務(wù)所的律師Andrea Bazzo說(shuō)爭(zhēng)議數(shù)額越來(lái)越大，原因很簡(jiǎn)單，因?yàn)榘臀鞯拇蠊驹絹?lái)越多。這些事件也變得越來(lái)越普遍，因?yàn)樽兂呻娮哟鏅n之后更易查出錯(cuò)誤。犯錯(cuò)痛苦而簡(jiǎn)單。世界銀行認(rèn)為巴西的稅收名目是全世界最復(fù)雜的。

　　Taxdisputes are as Brazilian as string bikinis or samba. Petrobras, astate-controlled oil giant, is fighting a bill for 4.8 billion reais relatingto the leasing of oil platforms between 1999 and 2002. Vale, a mining giant, isfighting four bills totalling 30.5 billion reais for tax on its foreignearnings and another for 3 billion reais in royalties. Both battles have lastedyears and ended up in court. The amounts under dispute are getting bigger, saysAndrea Bazzo of Mattos Filho Advogados, a So Paulo law firm, simply becausethere are more big Brazilian firms. They are more common because a shift to electronicfiling makes errors easier to spot. Erring is painfully easy: the World Bankrates Brazils tax code as the worlds most complicated.

　　另一家法律事務(wù)所Pinheiro Neto的律師 Luiz Peroba 稱(chēng)：稅務(wù)工作者一旦發(fā)現(xiàn)可能的錯(cuò)誤便立刻發(fā)布違規(guī)報(bào)告，而不是直接同公司聯(lián)系。即使收益并未減少，解釋并不成立，也如此操作。大自然公司說(shuō)到最近一期同公司結(jié)構(gòu)有關(guān)的爭(zhēng)議。其商業(yè)與工業(yè)分公司自從1994年分開(kāi)一直沒(méi)變，但2005年卻收到了相似的賬單，這一爭(zhēng)議最后勝訴。

　　Taxofficials generally issue infraction notices as soon as they spot a potentialmistake, says Luiz Peroba of Pinheiro Neto, another law firm, rather thandiscussing it directly with the firm. This is true even if there has been noloss of revenueand even if their interpretation isunlikely to prevail. Natura says its latest dispute relates to its companystructure, with a split between its commercial and industrial arms, which hasnot changed since 1994. It received a similar bill in 2005, which it disputedsuccessfully.

　　這些違規(guī)通知包括利息以及75%的罰款。若錯(cuò)誤得到證實(shí)，罰款變?yōu)?50%，數(shù)額龐大，無(wú)力支付。比如MMX公司最近的爭(zhēng)議賬單是其總市值的90%。因此公司只能抗?fàn)帲瑒e無(wú)選擇。若是走到對(duì)簿公堂這一步，輕而易舉的就打發(fā)了15年。

　　Suchinfraction notices include interest and a penalty of 75%, or 150% if fraud issuspected. That often makes them unpayably vast: MMXsdisputed bill is 90% of its entire market value. So firms have little choicebut to fight, which can easily take 15 years if the argument ends up in court.

　　Peroba先生說(shuō)，相比總體的負(fù)擔(dān)，外商更擔(dān)心巴西稅收的復(fù)雜以及不可預(yù)測(cè)性。本國(guó)公司認(rèn)為長(zhǎng)期的稅收爭(zhēng)斗是經(jīng)營(yíng)的另一項(xiàng)花費(fèi)。不過(guò)幾乎沒(méi)有人擔(dān)憂(yōu)稅務(wù)人員會(huì)讓自己破產(chǎn)。近幾年，政府通過(guò)幾項(xiàng)稅收大赦政策，大幅度削減利息，罰金，并且 允許分期支付違約金。Peroba先生說(shuō)，除非進(jìn)行稅收改革，否則大赦是唯一保持稅收系統(tǒng)運(yùn)行的方法。巴西人知道會(huì)不時(shí)受到這些賬單，即使最終必須支付也不會(huì)是全部金額。

　　Foreignbusinesses worry more about the complexity and unpredictability of Brazils taxes than the total burden, says Mr Peroba. Locals regard longtax battles as just another cost of doing business; few worry that the taxmanwill bankrupt them. In recent years the government has passed several taxamnesties, slashing interest and fines and letting infractors pay ininstalments. Without tax reforms, amnesties are theonly way to keep the system going, says Mr Peroba. Brazilians know these bills will come from time to time, and if theyeventually have to pay it wont be the full amount.